Can Builders Keep Building During Austin's Stay-At-Home Order?

A construction worker works at a building site at Trinity and Cesar Chavez in downtown Austin last week.

Julia Reihs
/ KUT

When Austin issued its stay-at-home order last week, it was kind of vague about construction. Some people were confused, and plenty of builders stayed on the job. So, can builders keep building?

No – with some exceptions.

The order Mayor Steve Adler issued to help stop the spread of the coronavirus mandated many businesses close — except for a lengthy list of what are considered “essential” businesses. That list does not include residential or commercial construction.

Construction of facilities specifically required by the city in response to the COVID-19 emergency

Any construction site that does operate (because it meets the criteria above) are required to send sick workers home and to allow for physical distancing of at least 6 feet between employees while they’re on the job.

The city does say that if even part of a construction project includes one of these categories, the entire project will be exempt from the order — meaning construction can continue.

The mayor’s order specifically exempts electricians, plumbers and other trades that “provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences,” so those small household repairs are not a problem. But a major remodel or renovation is unlikely to be allowed.

On Monday, the city announced a process for developers to apply for their projects to be deemed essential. They can fill out this form, which goes to a committee of city officials. It's unclear whether a construction site is allowed to continue operating until that determination is made. A call to the city's Development Services Department was not immediately returned.

If you want to report a construction site you think is not complying with the order, you can file a 311 complaint here.

The real estate industry isn’t too happy with the restrictions.

“Public health and safety is the top priority for all of us, but the mayor’s implementation of a construction ban shuts down essential work, makes unrelated exceptions for narrow categories, and goes too far,” Dianne Bangle, CEO of the Real Estate Council of Austin, said in a news release last week. “Implementing this construction ban will devastate construction workers and small businesses, including large communities of color, skilled and unskilled trades, labor and their families.”

Got a tip? Email Matt Largey at mlargey@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @mattlargey.

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Related Content

This post has local news on the coronavirus pandemic from Monday, March 30. Read Tuesday's live updates here. If you'd like to go through a roundup of COVID-19 news from the weekend, read it here. If you have a news tip or question, email us at news@KUT.org.

Every day, we hear updated COVID-19 numbers: The number of confirmed cases. The number of people hospitalized. The number of people who have died. We know the numbers are going up, and we expect them to continue to rise. But beyond that, it can be difficult to understand what they teach us about the spread of the disease and whether we’re making progress against it.

Austin-Travis County has confirmed 200 cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday night. One person in the area, a woman in her 70s, has died from the illness. The city is far from the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S.; places like New York City and New Orleans are reporting hospitals being overwhelmed.